“What makes you think our Golden Crow Sect won’t rise again?”

“Is that a joke?” Kaori replied to the Goldeen Supreme. “Not only has the Mortal Empire grown far beyond your control, but even if they were to collapse during the second phase… Don’t you have another enemy to deal with?”

The elders froze.

“I was wondering. Why is such a powerful Sect, with four Supremes at that, hiding like a field of mice?

“You feign to the outside world that your best genius is a mere Eighth Order Celestial who’s even died already. You share your quadrant with three Sects far below your strength. And even now, you skulk in the shadows, too scared to take even a single step outside.”

“Don’t go too far with your words, boy.”

“I’m not going too far. I’m only stating the facts.

“What I find even more interesting is that everything seemed to change after the Golden Flame Mystical World opened. To think that a mighty Sect like yours would hardly care about the death of the God level genius. The world hardly heard a peep about it.

“Despite the fact everyone was aware that Emperor Sacharro was the one to take his life, you all actually did nothing to retaliate.

“Of course, someone who was far more foolish might believe your inaction to be due to the fact Emperor Sacharro had a Higher Existence backing him, but this is something only the masses would accept. Anyone who had even an inkling of knowledge was aware that many of the top ten Tower Quadrants had Higher Existences among them, albeit the weakest of Higher Existences…

“For the death of your supposed best genius, the Golden Crow Sect’s reaction was far too lukewarm.

“So… I became quite interested. The Mortal Library became quite a useful tool for me, actually. Just what were the origins of the Golden Flame Mystical World, what of your Golden Crow Sect’s origins?

“You clearly didn’t like the Sacharros as you chose not to join their Empire, but you still didn’t act against them either, isn’t that too pitiful?

“Even when your plans hinged on the success of the Golden Flame Mystical World’s mission, you still didn’t dare send out your best geniuses for fear of being discovered.

“Who knew that I would stumble upon the legends of the Golden Crow… of a stolen flame… of two fugitive clans…?”

The atmosphere grew colder and colder, but Kaori didn’t seem to notice.

“I didn’t think that the mighty Goldeen and Crow Clans would have such low class thieves for Ancestors. A pitiful sight indeed.”

“You dare!?” The roars of the elders shook the planet’s very foundations, it felt as though this hall might collapse at any time under their anger. Who knew what Kaori was trying to do, but he was definitely going too far in their minds.

“Did I speak wrongly? Your Clans were once the subordinates of the true Golden Crow Clan. Yet, when they came to face an enemy, even after so many generations of nurturing you all, instead of taking their side, you stabbed them in the back and stole the root of their bloodline.

“In the end, the Golden Crows were forced to enter the Ancient Battlefield as a failed Clan, while your Goldeen and Crow Clans took over their legends.

“How many youths of the mortal plane are even aware that the Golden Crow was a legendary mythical beast that stood on par with the Dragons and Phoenixes? To them, the Golden Crow bloodline was always human… I wonder how enraged the true Golden Crows will be once the descend upon the mortal plane once more…”

The sound of clenching jaws filled the hall, but the two Clans really had no way to rebut these words.

They had no idea how Kaori learned of this story. There was definitely no history book that told it in its entirety… The only explanation was that this kitsune was actually capable of pulling tidbits from across hundreds, maybe even thousands of stories to patch this truth together himself.

What level of intelligence did it take to achieve something like this? The elders here couldn’t even fathom it at all…

How could the Goldeen and Crow Clans not have gone to extreme lengths in order to hide this past of theirs? If it became common knowledge, it would heavily impact their Faith… Yet, despite this, Kaori pieced together to truth himself.

Kaori had gotten more than 90% of the story correct. In fact, this was the very reason that even when their Goldeen and Crow Clans began to decline, they decided upon Orcus’ trillion-year plan as opposed to entering the Ancient Battlefield and facing their feared enemy…

“Now, I don’t know what plans your two clans had put in place in order to deal with this coming calamity, but what I do know is that your Clan most definitely failed the moment the matters of the Golden Flame Mystical World no longer went your way…

“The real question is if you’re willing to give up like this, or if you’re willing to fight.”

Kaori’s cold gaze flashed with the first sign of emotion he had displayed since he entered this hall. A mixture of unbridled fury and determination shone outward so fiercely that his aura completely changed. He was a weak man… So weak in fact that any one of the elders in this hall could pinch him to death. But, in that instant, he suddenly became the strongest…

“Emperor Sacharro must die by my hand. I won’t rest until I have the heads of everyone he cares about. I need to see the despair and rage in his gaze, I want to make him bathe in the blood of his loved ones.

“And to do that, I need the once mighty Golden Crow Sect.”